History

Our History

Phase One

In 1980, 17 people met in Pastor Marty and Laurie Berglunds’ home in Shamong for the first worship services of our church. Bedrooms became classrooms; the garage was the first sanctuary. Bible studies, outreach visits, and children’s and youth programs were begun through the prayers and hard work of that small group of dedicated people.

Phase Two

The group of 17 quickly grew to 50 people, who sacrificed greatly to be able to pay rent to meet in a local middle school and to raise money to buy seven acres of land in our current location. Those individuals believed that they were a part of a group who had been called by God to reach the Medford area with the message of the Gospel. They prayed big prayers and believed that, together, they could have an impact for the Kingdom.

Phase Three

In May of 1986, the first service was held in the current FAC Chapel, much of which was built by the group of people meeting in the middle school. They ran into countless obstacles in order to get into that new building: building approvals, financing, construction, and weather issues. If there was ever any doubt about God’s blessing on the building of the Chapel, it was erased on the day when the foundation was scheduled to be poured, and it was raining hard everywhere in Medford. Cancellation of the delivery would have meant additional fees and delays. The trucks came out, soaking wet, to a perfectly dry area. It was raining everywhere else around the area, but it was dry where the foundation was poured!

Phase Four

God continued to bless the ministry of FAC, and by 1993 the little group of 50 had grown exponentially to 1000, necessitating four worship services. Plans were made for a second building. A successful building campaign was undertaken, and again, many zoning and building obstacles were overcome, resulting in the first services being held in May of 1995.

Phase Five

In 2006, our weekend services were already crowded, and many of our ministries had outgrown their space, necessitating the rental of additional space on an ongoing basis for our youth. At this point, our “Kingdom Vision: Can You See It?” campaign was launched. We prayed that we would be able to purchase 12 parcels of surrounding land, totaling 85 acres ― none of which was for sale. God not only gave us 10 of the 12 parcels, but He gave them to us under budget! More miracles occurred when we were blessed with approvals for major zoning changes regarding the maximum height and size of the building.

We are now able to use our previous sanctuary as a meeting place for our youth programs. In the past, youth have met in a nearby school because of limited space. We’re grateful to now be able to accommodate all our young people on church grounds. In the future, we’re looking to complete the work on the new balcony and finalize additional classroom space for children.

In December of 2016, we celebrated God’s goodness to us when we met for the first time in our new Worship Center. We believe that God has used and will continue to use the new Worship Center and classrooms to introduce many more people to Himself.